Pre was sold out in a few hours, will be shipped this week

Jun 8, 2009 10:45 GMT  ·  By
Palm Pre sold out in a few hours, the webOS to appeal to more smartphone makers
   Palm Pre sold out in a few hours, the webOS to appeal to more smartphone makers

Sprint launched on Saturday Palm's latest smartphone, the Palm Pre, which was named long time before its launch and iPhone killer. Given the fact that people lined up rapidly two days ago to get a Pre, we learn that the phone was rapidly sold out and that some of the carrier's stores won't be getting new shipments with the Pre for the entire week. According to Intomobile, only some of the stores will see late stock refreshments, while others will get new Pres as soon as today.

According to Bloomberg, there were a lot of retailers that reported Pre shortages soon after the launch. It seems that some stores managed to sell around 60 units in about two hours after they opened up on June 6. “I’m not finding the Pres. They’ve sold out everywhere,” Jennifer Fritzsche, an analyst at Wachovia Securities Inc, said. “It can actually help them because they’re creating more of a buzz.” She is also reported to have stated that some stores would receive new units on June 10.

The Pre needs to be successful for both Palm and Sprint, and it seems that the handset indeed has the necessary features to turn into a massive success. According to some of the latest estimations from iSuppli, Palm might be able to ship more than 1.1 million Pres before the end of the ongoing year. In addition, the firm also says that, in case the 3G GSM version of the phone also comes to the market this year, the total sales could rise above the 1.3-million mark.

One of the key components the phone maker has included in the new Pre is its operating system, the webOS, which comes with an intuitive user interface, based on widgets, just like the one used with the iPhone. In case the Pres see a lot of traction on the market, the platform's influence could expand beyond Palm's products, and other smartphone makers might be interested in embracing the webOS.

This requires, of course, for Palm to allow others to use its OS on their devices. “If Palm decides to license webOS to other companies, it could follow in the footsteps of Google's Android operating system, which is expected to expand its share of global smart phone operating systems to grow by nearly a factor of 12 from 2008 to 2010 according to iSuppli's Design Forecast Tool (DFT) for Mobile Handsets,” Tina Teng, senior analyst, wireless communications, iSuppli, shared.

Things are not as simple as one might think in the end, for there are a lot of factors that need be taken into consideration. One of those things implies the launch of an application store, which should include solutions for the OS rather than for the handset. At the same time, iSuppli adds, another concern might rise when it comes to the LTPS LCD display of the handset, for it is a popular solution on the smartphone market, and there might be shortages at a certain moment.